Things As They Should Be
by Rossi
Summary: Companion story to "Things As They Are": Scott realises it's over.


I know I said I was finished with this, but you know stories, sometimes they won't lay down and be quiet. Some people thought I'd done Scott an injustice in my portrayal of him. Perhaps this will redress the balance. 

Disclaimer: They're Marvels. And no, I don't have permission. Sorry. "One" isn't mine either. It's U2's. 

Rating: PG- hints at adult-type themes. 

Summary: Do I really need to? Sheesh, all right. This takes place shortly after Jean tells Scott she's leaving him. See "Things As They Are" if you really want to know the details. It's on luba's site, "Fonts of Pryde and Wisdom". 

Things As They Should Be. (1/1)By Rossi Rossi@subreality.com 

"Is it getting betterOr do you feel the same?Will it make it easier on youNow you got someone to blame?" 

The boathouse was quiet. Almost peaceful. Unlike the man sitting on the floor of the living room, his heart breaking into a million pieces. 

"You sayOne loveOne lifeWhen it's one needIn the nightIt's one loveWe get to share itIt leaves you babyWhen you don't care for it." 

Jean was gone. He'd confronted her with the truth, and she'd gone. Did it matter? Perhaps she'd left him months ago, when she'd slept with Wolverine. Perhaps she'd never truly been with him. Maybe she had been right, he'd loved an image of her, one he'd created in his head. 

If it was so clear, why did it feel so bad? 

"Did I disappoint you?Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?You act like you never had loveAnd you want me to go without." 

And to lose her to _him_. A travesty of a human being, more animal than man. Had he failed her so badly? But that went without saying. He had given her everything he had to give, save the one thing she truly wanted. 

"Well it's too lateTonightTo drag the past outInto the lightWe're oneBut we're not the sameWe get to carry each otherCarry each other One." 

He hadn't meant to. But faced with the actuality of raising a child, he'd turned and ran. He'd been too afraid of his past, his future... He'd chosen to cheat fate rather than to face it, fight it. 

"Have you come here for forgiveness?Have you come to raise the dead?Have you come here to play JesusTo the lepers in your head?" 

In time, perhaps, they might have been able to overcome it, forgive each other. But then again, some hurts ran too deep. And Jean had made her choice. To walk away from him, from the X-Men, from everything. 

"Did I ask too much?More than a lotYou gave me nothingNow it's all I got" 

There was a bottle of Scotch on the table. 

"We're oneBut we're not the sameWe hurt each otherAnd we do it again." 

Anger. He should be angry. After all, she was the one who had betrayed him. But his anger had drained away, leaving him cold and empty. And alone. Just as he'd been in the orphanage, in the years before he and Jean had discovered each other. Jean wouldn't be alone. She would have her family, her friends. The baby. And what would he have? As always, duty. Responsibility. The team. 

The bottle of Scotch on the table. 

"You say Love is a templeLove a higher lawLove is a templeLove the higher law.You ask me to enterBut then you make me crawl.And I can't keep holding onTo what you gotWhen all you got is hurt." 

What made them choose this song for their wedding? He hadn't really listened to it properly before now. It wasn't a love song. Not really. Perhaps it was an omen? A sign that things were doomed? 

Scott laughed, bitterly. 

Fate again: he couldn't escape it even when he wanted to, tried to. Destiny always found another way. 

"One loveOne bloodOne lifeYou've got to do what you should." 

He would. Wasn't he the leader? 

"One lifeWith each otherSistersBrothersOne life But we're not the sameWe get to carry each otherCarry each other." 

He looked up again at the bottle sitting so invitingly on the table. He needed something, _anything_ to carry him through this. Would it be so wrong? If ever a man needed an excuse, he had one now. 

His hand closed over the smooth, cold glass. 

"OneOne." 

Not any more. 

The End. 

It always struck me, reading the lyrics of 'One', that it wasn't exactly the most romantic song in the world. It seems to about mutual dependency, staying with someone not because you want to, but you feel you should do. Interesting choice of song to have the bridal waltz to. 

For those who don't get the Scotch references, in "Things As They Are" it was revealed Scott had developed something of a drinking problem. This is where it started. 


End file.
